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Building a Home

Who has an Intercom System?

16 years ago

Tell me about it.... Are you glad to have it? Was it expensive? We'll have 2 stories, 3 kids with their rooms upstairs, ours will be down. Does anybody know of inexpensive brands (perhaps something by Radio Shack)? We really want to have it, but don't want to spend an arm & a leg for it.....

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Comments (8)

bus_driver
16 years ago
I have the Nutone 5000. It is an expensive system to buy new. I bought components in 3 different eBay auctions to put together my system. Saved bunches over the prices at the link below. Every item I bought worked perfectly- some of the room station units were used, but still looked good. One purchase was from a fellow who bought and planned to install, but was transferred and sold the house before the installation. With the proper input units, it can broadcast radio and music through the system- I do not have those units. Mine required special-only from Nutone- 8 conductor cable. Look at the systems that are part of the telephone. Lots of folks use them now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Intercom
lyfia
16 years ago
I had it in my first TX house and it was a nutone. It worked great. We had one in the master, one downstairs in the 2nd living area (house built on a hill so main floor was upstairs), one in the kitchen, and one outside the front door. We could set them so we could listen to everything going on in another room if we wished. I really liked not having to go to the front door for all the door-to-door sales that seemed to be in that neighborhood.
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The DMC3/4 isn't the system you'd want regardless, since it's a model made to replace an old unit. The unit you would want would be the DMC1, which is meant for a new installation. And apparently that system wouldn't do the things you're wanting anyway. 1. There is no "isolated" paging function. 2. The music sound quality will leave a lot to be desired. 3. Intercom to the gate will possibly be an issue, if the distance is lengthy. And your budget number isn't going to get you there either..... Really sounds like you need a custom installation company that can point you in the right direction, as well as recommend some various options that WILL get the job done. I'd recommend Russound for the sound/paging, with a Viking Telco unit for the gate. Possibly you can find if a CEDIA member in your area? Link below. Here is a link that might be useful: CEDIA
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We have a 1992 hard-wired home intercom/music system (Nutone 4006) with AM/Fm radio and single cassette player. The 5" speakers are crackling. We're in the midst of some major remodeling throughout the house. We used the system when our children were small, but haven't used it since they've moved away, however, we need to either take it out and sheetrock over the holes as we paint, or upgrade. We want to prepare for re-sale in about 5-8 years. It's a large house, ~4,000 square feet, with a full basement that's mostly finished.... so some type of communication system is helpful. From reading on the web, it seems that both the Nutone IMA 4406 as well as DMC system could be used to upgrade. There's also a Nutone NM2000 that I found online tonight. Has anyone had experience with any of these? Thanks for any advice.... Jeanie
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We removed ours. The cost to replace it -- and then to upgrade the wiring for the new systems, was ridiculous. We figured an ipod and speaker would be better, and you can get wireless speaker systems that will probably give you better music quality, more flexibility and be cheaper that the intercom. We patched the wall in the kitchen when it was done and are doing the other rooms as we repaint them. The front door had the doorbell, so we had to do that one at the time also. We installed a new doorbell and mounted the button to a small wooden plaque I bought for $1 at Michael's.
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I know a couple of electronic engineers who sometimes take on projects like this just for fun. I've seen them trace and reverse-engineer circuits and do board level work, changing small parts and ICs to get the gadget working. Decades ago that kind of repair was actually the standard. It wasn't just for fun, people made a pretty decent living driving their vans to other folks' houses to fix their big, heavy 23" and 25" console television sets (and before that their big console radios). In 1970, a Motorola "works in a drawer" Quasar color television cost $600. That's about $3,800 in today's dollars! When you spent that kind of dough on your electronics, it made sense to call in a repair tech and spend $50 or $75 to get it fixed when it quit working (and quit they did, fairly often). I still see a few old-timers who work on television sets and other similar electronics, but they're nearly extinct in the US. These days electronics are much more reliable and longer-lived than they were 40-50 years ago, but when they do finally fail, most people just junk them and buy new. (As an aside, though, I was chatting a few months ago with a friend of ours who lives in South Korea. She said she'd taken the day off work to wait for the television repairman! So while they may be obsolete here in the US, I guess they survive in some other places.) To get back on topic, what you can do yourself to troubleshoot that intercom is going to be limited by the depth of your electronics background. If you understand electrical safety, know how to use test gear, and can read a service manual and schematic, you can probably at least find and test the power supply. But you still need to be able to get the manual and spare parts. That in turn requires that the manufacturer still exists and still provides service info and parts for their older products. (I can't see the brand name on yours in the picture.) Much as I hate to say it, probably your most practical solution is to buy a new intercom. Nutone, for one, has been around since the 1930s, and IIRC has been making intercoms since at least the 1950s. I expect there are other brands too.
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lyfia
16 years ago
For a cheap option how about a phone with intercom?

Phones with intercom
mikie_gw
16 years ago
My philips cordless telephones do intercom duty. Think all the new name brand DECT phones have the intercom feature. Call any phone internally - can do room monitoring and still recieve incoming calls. Amazing little cordless phones, better range than a recent 2.4Mhz phone. DECT. 1.9Mhz digital cordless voice only frequency.
missymar
Original Author
16 years ago
I didn't think about phones w/ an intercom...... What I really want the intercom for is the convenience of not having to go up & down the stairs to make sure the kids are up on school mornings. Will a phone w/ intercom work just as well if we decide to go that route?
gabeach
16 years ago
Do you have teenagers?
I had an intercom in our last house. Teens and intercoms do not peacefully coexist. Teen kept turning his off so he would not have to hear anyone calling him. This was also the problem w/the music system. Teen does not like same type music as parent, so he turns off his speaker.
missymar
Original Author
16 years ago
Not teens yet, but soon to be..... Thanks, Gabeach, didn't think about them turning the system off. That would really be a waste of $ if it wasn't kept on.... Then I'd still have to be going up & down the stairs (while trying to get ready for work!)!
lyfia
16 years ago
Give the teens a cellphone and call it. They will never turn that one off. Better yet send them a text message.

BTW this is meant as a joke although I'm sure it would work too.

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